ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · rock · scale · bay · trunk · shower · degree · bear

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. rock — music
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spring — the season
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — of water
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. shower — rain
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. scale — in music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bear — the animal
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. degree — an amount
  24. trunk — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com